Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

Blurb: Gretchen Rubin had an epiphany one rainy afternoon in the unlikeliest of places: a city bus. “The days are long, but the years are short,” she realized. “Time is passing, and I’m not focusing enough on the things that really matter.” In that moment, she decided to dedicate a year to her happiness project.

In this lively and compelling account, Rubin chronicles her adventures during the twelve months she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific research, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Among other things, she found that novelty and challenge are powerful sources of happiness; that money can help buy happiness, when spent wisely; that outer order contributes to inner calm; and that the very smallest of changes can make the biggest difference.

Review: I first discovered this book via the web, or more correctly, I came across Ms. Rubin’s website The Happiness Project

I thought – what a great idea. A person can never have enough happiness. It’s taken me longer to read the book.

In the book Ms. Rubin starts by explaining how her happiness project came about and the research she did before she started. After her research she came up with twelve commandments:

1. Be Gretchen
2. Let it go.
3. Act the way I want to feel.
4. Do it now.
5. Be polite and be fair.
6. Enjoy the process.
7. Spend out.
8. Identify the problem.
9. Lighten up.
10. Do what ought to be done.
11. No calculation.
12. There is only love.

These commandments were used to help her keep to her new resolutions.

On 1 January, she started her happiness project, tackling different sections of her life. For example January was all about vitality and energy. Her goals were to a) sleep earlier, b) exercise better, c) toss, restore and organize, d) tackle a nagging task and e) act more energetic. Each month she tackled something different, always referring back to her twelve commandments.

This book is very readable, and I found myself nodding along with some of the things the author said or did during her months of seeking happiness. It’s a self-help book, and like all self-help books the reader takes what works for them and ignores the rest.

When I read some of the reviews, they said the author came across as self-indulgent. I didn’t find that. For me the personal experience added to the reading experience. If you’re searching for happiness, definitely spend a little time flicking through The Happiness Project. I think you’ll find it worthwhile.

Purchase The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

The beginning of a new year is traditionally the time to start afresh. Some people make New Year resolutions such as wanting to get fit, lose weight or give up smoking. They’re common ones. I’ve never been one for making resolutions, since I’m of the opinion that if I want to make a life change, I can do it at any time. I don’t need a new year to kick me into gear.

This year was a little different. I decided to pursue happiness. So what prompted this change?

Two family friends died during 2011. One was slightly younger than me (author Sandra Hyatt) and one was a little older. Both passed away before their time, and this brought home to me how precious each day is. Life is way too short to waste in anything but happiness.

What is happiness?

To me happiness is finding joy in the little things. It’s taking care of everything that I can control and letting everything else take care of itself. Happiness is letting go of the things that cause stress and enjoying friends, family and puppies. It’s trying new experiences and keeping my days clutter free. Happiness is experiencing life and embracing change instead of just drifting aimlessly along. Happiness is love.

How do you define happiness?

My special guest today is fellow Romance Diva Jennifer Colgan. She writes for Amber Quill and Amber Heat and has a new release called Strange New World coming in Feb 2009 from Samhain Publishing. Jennifer also writes under the name of Bernadette Gardner for Ellora’s Cave. Today Jennifer is talking about the measuring up and taking stock we all do at the start of a new year. Over to Jennifer…

First off, I’d like to thank Shelley for inviting me to be her guest. I’ve been reading all the wonderful posts by her previous guests and wondering how I can measure up.

The question of measuring up – of taking stock of who and what we are, is one that usually plagues me during this time of year. Though I strive to see the year as a circle with no real beginning and I subscribe to the idea that it’s never too late to start something, when the end of December rolls around, I invariably find myself contemplating how the year that’s coming to a close measures up to the one before, and how it will impact the one after.

This past year was a whirlwind for me. It seemed to fly by in a blur while I tried to keep all my plates spinning at once. In addition to writing for three publishers and editing for two, I still hold a part time job outside of writing and of course care for my home and family, which includes a husband, two children and an ever-expanding collection of pets. While I wish I could say this was a year of unprecedented accomplishment, to be honest, it was more a year of unflagging dedication to getting the job done. I measured each day in how many pages I wrote [and usually how many loads of laundry I washed]. I became quota girl so to speak, stuck on the DO MORE treadmill. “Get it done” was my motto.

While that might seem like it worked fairly well from the standpoint of an outside observer – I wrote five stories, sold seven, and edited twenty – not to mention finding time to read forty other books, most for my own enjoyment, I did lose track of something I’m hoping to regain in 2009. While striving to accomplish, to GET IT DONE, I began to lose some of the wonder of my craft and that’s where I’ve decided to concentrate my efforts to see that 2009 measures beyond 2008.

I don’t plan to exceed my word count this year, or to read 41 books instead of 40. My goal for 2009 is a bit more elusive. I want to love what I’m doing again. I want to get back to the way it was when I started out, writing for the joy of seeing a story unfold before me on the page, letting my characters surprise me by doing something I hadn’t planned for them, rather than vex me by stalling my progress for the day.

It may seem like a small detail in the overall scheme of things, but to me it’s huge and will mark for me whether or not 2009 is a success. If I can fall in love with writing all over again, I will be able to say the New Year not only measured up but surpassed the old one.

Happy Holidays everyone and may you not only meet but exceed all your goals in the coming months!

Question from Shelley: How do you approach the new year? Do you take stock like Jennifer? Decide to do things differently?

Don’t forget to check out Jennifer’s story, Fresh Blood, available on her website for free! Here’s the link.